Spelling Bee
by Constance Greene
Summary: If you lose, I get to kiss you. Prequel. — AxelLarxene


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**Spelling Bee  
**oNESHOT --

(_xxx_)

Today you would find the Savage Nymph lounging in the library, dainty body molding into the black leather couch that was positioned in the center of the room and on the edge of the rug, complying with her cloak that was conveniently the same hue. She'd be camouflaged; disappear into nothingness if not for her pale skin and hair. The two strands of hair which eminently resembled insect antennae fell into her face and brushed against the page she was reading out of a leather-bound book, and with absent-minded impatience she flicked the bangs away so she could continue down the lines of print.

_She looked into his deep green eyes and knew what he was feeling. Pain. Pain, the same brand that impaled her heart on a stick so she could hand it to him like a roasted hot dog, and then he could devour it with ravenousness. _

You stole my heart from me, Rob, _She thought. _And all you can do is want more.

"_Why don't you love me, Krystine?"_

"_I do." She wanted to add, _Can't you tell? _Gently, she touched his hand. He ripped it away, out of reach._

"_Then start acting like it!"_

Tch. It was sappy, strange, and promoted cannibalism, along with many other mixed messages. Larxene guessed it would do.

Too absorbed to hear the door creak open, her attention remained transfixed on the book until she felt the sofa suddenly dip downwards at the other end, as if someone had been at liberty to sit down uninvited. And he had done just that.

Her eyes rolled upwards and immediately Axel was in her line of vision. He had made himself quite comfortable there on the couch, propping his long legs up on the footrest that automatically slid out of its hiding place in front of the seat. His arms, like bones strewn across a tomb, rested outstretched on the backboard.

Axel, luckily, was easy to ignore when she didn't want to talk to him. At the moment, he made no sign of regarding her, so she tucked back into her novel.

_Her eyes fluttered close with a soft sigh that filtered through her lips, which next found themselves glued on the man's mouth. She let her body relax against the supporting line of his torso, fingertips tracing the small of his back . . . _

The sound of nails being filed interrupted this particularly delicious scene. She twitched. Her gaze snapped up once more, this time glaring daggers at the Nobody who reinforced flamboyant red hair.

"What do you want?"

Still not looking at her and rather examining his fingers, Axel heaved a sigh. "You know, Larxene," He paused amidst his drawl to offer her the nail file in a manicured grasp, and she responded by letting out a hiss of breath in declination, "I bet I could spell better than you could."

The book remaining in her lap was proof that she read frequently, and henceforth highly doubted Axel's claim. Even romance novels sometimes snuck SAT words in between the text, with plenty of context clues. And there were always dictionaries available if she was ever struck numb and baffled by a word.

"Do it." She insisted.

"What?"

"Spell 'better.'"

The fire-loving man wore a lazy smile (or grin, since someone as shifty as Axel never smiled, as far as Larxene was concerned) as he began to exploit the letters. "B – E –,"

She halted him, pinching her lips together as though something sour had penetrated her taste buds. "You're such a dork. What's with your obsession with words anyway?"

He raised his brows in attempts to appear innocent. "Not obsession, dearie – just fascination."

Larxene re-crossed her legs, unconvinced. It was arrantly obvious to every Organization XIII member that Number Eight was infatuated with flame, supreme memory, and being downright aggravating. "Whatever." She didn't prod further as her nose dipped once more to read her book. Now, where was she? Oh, yes. Axel had come in right at the good part.

"You know I could, Larxie." He was also known not to discard whatever mischievous plans that infested his mind. The persistence bugged her and wore on her nerves. Miserably, she realized that was what Axel must've intended. Stick around until the sparks fly. Well, he'd get his sparks, that was for sure.

"I'd like to see you try."

"All right. Larxene, I challenge you to a spelling bee."

"You can't have a spelling bee with just two people." She pointed out, their arrogant personalities colliding head on, but Axel seemed unfazed. She was feigning rebellion to this ridiculous idea but was actually silently hooked and interested.

"Sure you could." If Axel deemed it possible, then by God, it was possible.

"Who'll be the judge?"

Almost expecting him to say something as pompous as 'I will' (and then she'd be well out of the game), Larxene watched him call over his shoulder like a master would do to their dog.

"Oy, Roxas!"

Said person materialized at the doorway, stalking in a few regrettable steps with invisible shackles clamped around his ankles. Larxene thought she could faintly imagine the chinking of chains.

"So you've got the kid in child labor?" Her tone of voice sounded amused. She never did like Roxas, or understand why Axel always clung to him. Sadistically, she wondered if it was because he'd fall into the category of a pushover; an accessible victim doing slave work for the pyromaniac.

Roxas stated simply, "I lost in his spelling bee."

"First word, too. What haven't I taught ya, kiddo?" Axel turned his attention back to the young woman and stated his pick of torture. "If you lose, Larx, I get to kiss you."

It was as if she had sat down on something hot. The light blonde stood up on an instant. "Hell no!"

She searched his eyes to see if he was serious. There was always an air of flippancy around Axel, but you could never tell for sure. His large green eyes fixed on her seriously. Shit.

He carried on with explaining the outcomes like nothing had happened. "And if I lose –"

"You fuckin grovel at my feet. For a month."

He only offered her a sly smile. "Deal. But I won't lose."

A noise that might have been a growl rose from the depths of Larxene's throat as she gesticulated rudely. "From whom did you learn this concept of competition?"

"Luxord."

"Him and his damn gambling." Number Twelve fidgeted while standing, fists clenched at her sides. She'd have to give into his incessant pleas of playing strip poker with him so that he wouldn't play with Axel. It's funny how she wouldn't mind letting Luxord see her cloakless as much as she minded letting Axel kiss her.

From the corner, Roxas sighed audibly, not enjoying this task anymore than Larxene was. "Ready?"

"Just get it over with. The sooner I see Axel groveling at my feet in close enough range to kick him and break his face, the better."

"Patience is a virtue, dear heart." Larxene wondered what Axel could possibly know about virtues. "Your first word is 'salacity.'"

"Salacity. S – A – L – A – C – I – T – Y. Salacity." This was stupid. She felt like she had been transported back to elementary school days when her parents forced her to enter these despisable contests.

He applauded idly, each clap done by a black-gloved hand slick with sarcasm. "Roxas. Give me a word."

"What?" Larxene snapped. "_I'm_ supposed to give you a word. Stop bending the rules."

"Right, right. I was just checking whether or not you were paying attention." Somehow, she didn't believe that.

Her mind faltered, scrambling for a suitable word. "'Atramentous.'"

With his pointer finger, Axel ticked off each imaginary letter. "A – T – R – A – M – E – N – T – O – U – S. Got it memorized? Now, 'Lecherous.'"

She spelled this one, too, and it was easier this time. After her turn to pick, a word she was decidedly unfamiliar with came up.

"'Concupiscence.'"

Larxene began to get harried. "What?"

"It means 'a strong sexual desire; lust,'" Axel quoted.

"You're disgusting."

The redhead merely waited placidly, expression revealing nothing. But there was a glint in his emerald eyes that meant no good, and she wanted to punch him for it. A frown crinkled her lips and furrowed her brow. She was determined not to lose. She never lost.

Undoubtedly Axel assumed the same with himself.

She could be reading a juicy and hot part in her book right now, but instead of sweating from the sensual visionary, she was sweating from the pressure of Axel's hungry eyes, eagerly awaiting her downfall. Oh, where did she go wrong? She barely even trusted herself enough to repeat the word back to him correctly, let alone spell it.

"C – O – N – C – U – P – I – S –," The girl hesitated.

"E –"

"Ehhhh," The lame buzzer sounded, not from the judge but from Axel, who swiftly got to his feet like a stealthy jaguar pouncing on its vulnerable and unknowing prey and wrapped a steely arm around her slender waist. He towered over her for just a second before sweeping his crimson-maned head down to kiss her. His lips were warm and for the briefest of moments his tongue flicked out from his mouth and caressed her own.

Somewhere in the background, Roxas was making gagging noises. Larxene wished she could retch into Axel's sneaky maw.

At such close quarters, it was difficult to kick the pyro in the male parts, but she managed to anyway. He detached himself with little less than a grunt.

"Damn you, Axel."

Despite his discomfort, Axel grinned. "Already been done."

_Note to self: Never let Axel challenge you to a seemingly harmless spelling bee again when you don't want an undesirable outcome._

(_xxx_)

**a** u t h o r ' s . n o t e ;;  
Just don't do it.  
I revoke all claims to me owning Kingdom Hearts.  
This was sort of half-hearted and cruddy, since I typed up the skeleton a few days prior to filling out the description.  
Oh well, Axel and Larxene ripping each other's heads off is cool. ♥


End file.
